East End Eats XIV: Yumei Sushi Restaurant

 

 

Disclaimer: I'm no sushi expert, or even a chatty novice. To me, it's always been at the level of "tasty snack", rarely reaching a personal level of satisfying meal. Several years ago I went to an all-you-can-eat sushi spot at Yonge and Dundas (here in Toronto) with a huge group of people, and I was definitely the last person still eating by a considerable margin. I believe my final count was either 28 or 31 pieces (I was trying other things also).

My appetite isn't quite what it used to be (a good thing since I'd probably be about 220 pounds). Sushi to me though... it's just not satisfying enough, at least to a hungry stomach as mine. However when done right, it hits those right spots. I've had extremely bad sushi (dunno why I ever thought getting some from Shoppers Drug Mart was a good idea...) which is bland, somewhat stale and disgustingly chewy. Please don't waste your money and try it for yourself. Seriously, it's the Pizza Pizza of sushi. 

What I love about sushi, when done well, is the texture. It just feels good in your mouth, soft and slightly bitter, with the flavour of whatever is in the centre bursting to your senses after an instant or two. It's a delightful experience, and Yumei Sushi in the Beaches (consequently right next door to my favourite bar in the Beaches) delivers those goods. 

This is high end fare, and while the price (in relation to how much food you get) is extremely not ideal... the quality here at least makes you recognize how most of the time the very best things are rarely the cheapest things. 

I can't exactly describe the flavour profiles (what is this, pizza?) but I ordered one spicy tuna roll (saucy with some decent spice punch) and a salmon roll that legit had caviar dressed within it. Caviar. Like holy cow. My familiarity with caviar is limited (as I don't often take baths in champagne) but here in extremely small form it added a bubble like texture that complimented an already tasty dish. 

Personally I love my sushi with wasabi (clear your sinuses up!) but in this case I saved it for the end, just to fully appreciate the flavours... which were fantastic. Perfect soft texture, the taste grows and melts in your mouth, and it just feels good to eat this. If only it weren't so expensive! Alas I am just a poor food reviewer (poor in finances, not writing quality, heh) and likely will only go back once I've secured that six figure book deal. So any publishers out there reading this... yeah I'd be into that six figure book deal whenever you are. Call me.  

East End Eats XIII: Breakwall BBQ & Smokehouse

 

 

It's a fairly compact neighbourhood in size but the Beaches is loaded with multiple BBQ options. Aside from Hogtown Smoke (an excellent choice already covered by this particular reviewer), you've also got Beach Hill up at Main and Gerrard (spoilers... it's coming soon to a familiar blog near you).

Breakwall is a popular Beaches spot, either foodwise or for late night pints on the way home from bartending busy concerts (*cough*). Occasionally in 2019 I popped in for a late night pint, but here in 2020 I'm as bored as a BlogTo reader who randomly stumbled upon my work. Well be assured, you've stumbled upon the right place. I'll save you the misleading headlines, designed to redirect your focus into mindless scrolling... and get right into the real core of it.

By the way I'm also a musician, check me out at Mixed Metaphors

 

I don't have anything awful, or amazing to say about Breakwall. I went for the brisket platter/helper (about 22-25 bucks) and my biggest grievance: it just isn't a lot of food. You get three nice slices of beef brisket (as thick as a nickel each) and some beef shavings on the side.

The brisket itself is fantastic: fatty, tender, favourful and perfectly complimented with the associating sides: pickles for acidity, bread for texture, and horseradish aioli for that creamy kick. It's great meat, tender and juicy, with a solid rind of fat for texture and extra flavour. Great quality. Like Oliver Twist though, I just want a little more. The quality will impress you, but the quantity will leave your eyes scanning a late night possibility.     

East End Eats XII: Somun Superstar

Ah yes, another pizza. Now we are back in my happy zone.

Back up the cliff to Kingston Road... Somun Superstar is a Bosnian restaurant specializing in a specific style of wood-fired baked bread (called "Somun", giving the resto its title). Most of their menu consists of Somun wrap sandwiches, filled with cevapcici and various other toppings (one is a homage to the Danforth and so has feta and olives, heh). I do mean to go back again and try one of these because they look and sound great.

But I can't resist pizza. Somun Superstar isn't a pizza joint exactly of course, their pizza options are almost like a secret menu with subtle secrecy. See, they only offer pizzas Friday and Saturday evenings for about four hours, even posting their pizza menu for that weekend just those two mornings.

Anyhow, to the pie itself! First off, bring a pizza cutter if you're eating this outside (I planned ahead, heh) because they don't cut it for you (you can tell if you look closely in the photo). Second, if you've read my extensive reviews (which you totally should) you might have noticed that on many occasions I argue how crust/dough is an extremely underrated aspect of a pizza. Bad pizzas are consistently stale and cardboard-like, even tiring out your jaw after a while (*cough* Pizza Pizza *cough*), and while the best pizzas I've ever tried aren't automatically the best in regards to texture, the dough/crust element at the very least compliments the sheer deliciousness above it. Man, I'm probably too into this, ha.

Somun Superstar doesn't quite reach the true elite level of Toronto pizza, but damn they might have the best bread. It's arguably the best thing going on here: fresh as hell, wonderfully soft and smells light and rich (like a bakery in the morning times fifty). The texture is pillowy, melting in your mouth after a bite or two. Just phenomenal. It has a bit of that wood-fired Neapolitan crust taste to it, just slightly less char crunch.

That's not to short change the rest of this pie! The pepperoni here is just the right amount of greasy and peppery, you can tell it was probably cured in house (cheap pepperoni is always very dry. Not the case here). Solid tomato sauce also (a good middle ground between too chunky and too runny) and the cheese tastes like upper shelf mozzarella (gooey and thick, precisely melted).

I've had so many great pizzas over the last two years and I will say this is another one of them. Not elite, like I said, but really really damn good and probably a low-key top 30-35 in Toronto for me (a serious compliment... my list is over a hundred now). I suggest you check them out for their Somun wraps either way, I know I have to as well.


Pizza Grade: B+ (30-35 range out of 105ish)   

East End Eats XI: Thai House Cuisine

 

 

 

An aside quickly: one night several months ago I was at a close friend's house who also lives in the east end (this was before the Covid-19 pandemic obviously). We were drinking beers and getting hungry, so he suggested we order delivery from a nearby Thai restaurant. This was the first time I'd eaten Thai food since I was actually in Thailand, nine years earlier. Guess I've been too busy ordering hundreds of pizzas.

I remember the food that night being delicious, so when I decided to embark upon this east end food quest, this Thai place definitely deserved a second look (especially with fewer *cough* beverages this time).

As much as I enjoy spicy duck, which is what I ordered on that maiden voyage, I went for a chicken dish this time. Upon picking it up (they have a nifty take-out window right at Queen and Wineva) I was a bit dismayed to see how small the bag was, although it smelled great. Looks can be deceiving, to overuse an overused phrase, as the portion was just filling enough even without rice (I instead toasted some pita bread to eat it with).

The sauce has a nice nutty texture (there are tiny chunks of peanut within) and is definitely the high-light here. There's an earthy richness, yet it doesn't overwhelm the other flavours thankfully (why truffle paste, for example, should be used minimally). Everything else is quite on par: the chicken is thankfully juicy and not dry, the veggies nicely cooked and adding a different texture and subtle bitter taste to the mix... and like I said it was enough food to satisfy this particular six foot tall, hungry dude. Another pretty good restaurant out here in Le Beaches.